Into the Future
by Blueberrychills94
Summary: *EARLY SUBMISSION FOR MALEC WEEK ON TUMBLR* Day Two: Alec and Isabelle talk about where Alec's relationship with Magnus is going. After dodging the subject of becoming serious with his boyfriend, Alec happens upon a rune called 'Fated' which gives him an idea of exactly where things are going with Magnus . . . *Credit for lines from City of Heavenly Fire go to Cassandra Clare*


**A/N: Malec week commences this weekend on tumblr. For some reason, my tumblr doesn** **'** **t allow me to paste things onto my posts but I feel like it** **'** **s a plagiarism thing which I can understand. I** **'** **m busy next week and won** **'** **t have time to post some things up so I** **'** **m going to schedule them with these fanfiction files attached, hence why I** **'** **m posting them here early :-)**

 **I** **'** **m writing things for days two, three and four so expect these to be posted here over the next few days. I** **'** **m going to draw for day five and six while one and seven are quotes or conversations :D**

Day Two: Into the Future Day

"So, would you say you're officially dating now?" Isabelle asked over the pot of goo she was stirring. Alec wasn't sure what it was his sister was making, exactly, but he didn't want to question her cooking ability because that would have sparked a completely _different_ conversation.

"I don't know . . . What constitutes the officality of a relationship?" Alec asked back. He really didn't want to get into this conversation with Isabelle but once she was set on something-especially if it involved her big brother's romantic life-then there was no use trying to divert her train of thought. It just wouldn't work.

Isabelle tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, you've been dating for more than a month; you've slept over at least twice at his place; you have at least five things from his place in your room"-Alec tried to deny this but Isabelle quickly held up a hand to silence him-"don't deny it, I doubt the samplers of glitter and perfume are yours. Annnnnnd, I'm not going to get into your sex life because I'm sure you know about all that yourself." She smiled brightly. "I'd say you're pretty official."

For some reason, this knowledge unnerved Alec. It wasn't that he didn't like Magnus, nor was it because he felt like it was a bad thing to be in an official relationship with the warlock. He just . . . he just worried that maybe things were going a bit fast. It had been two months since all the crap went down with Valentine and Clary and Jace discovering that they were siblings. It had also been two months since Alec went on his first date with Magnus (he still had bruises from the escapade with the stairs). Was two months really enough time to judge whether they were officially . . . boyfriends?

"You're psyching yourself out," Isabelle said, glaring at Alec with dark eyes. "Don't make me slap you with this spoon!"

Alec didn't want that. It looked like whatever Isabelle was stirring was extremely corrosive. "Okay, okay, I'll stop thinking about it," he said.

"Just keep saying to yourself, 'I'm cute and Magnus is extremely lucky to have me!'" Isabelle declared.

"Yeah because that's believable," Alec scoffed.

"We Lightwoods are blessed with devastating good looks," Isabelle corrected. She grinned smugly and brushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear. " _And_ we stole one of the last Herondales too. We really are the superior family."

"Yes, because theft-or the way you've made it sound, _kidnapping_ -are definitely admirable traits that should be sought out in all superior families," Alec responded dryly.

"Don't get snarky with me, Alexander," Isabelle threatened. "Or I'll add more sardines to this soup!"

Taking Isabelle's threat extremely seriously, Alec stopped arguing with her and allowed her to live out that happy little scenario in her head. Sometimes it felt like she was more invested in his relationship than he was. Not that he wasn't invested in his relationship with Magnus! He was extremely invested. Just . . . Isabelle thought more about the nitty gritty details such as it being 'official' and if they'd had the 'talk' yet and that he should wait until Magnus said they were steady first so that Alec didn't seem 'needy'. Relationships really were tiring, how did people put up with them?

"You should just talk to Magnus about it," said Isabelle. "Ask him what he thinks. Just say, I don't know, you've had a relationship epiphany or something."

"Relationship epiphany?" Alec repeated flatly.

"Yes! You aren't going to tarnish our good name by letting yourself fluff this relationship," Isabelle continued to explain. "And if Magnus tries to dump you, you tell me, and I'll spin the ol' Izzy charm on him and he'll remember, 'Oh yeah, this awesome girl could be my sister in law someday, I should definitely hang on'."

"Wait, sister in law?!" Alec exclaimed. "Now you're definitely thinking too far ahead."

Isabelle tapped her nose knowingly. "Never too soon."

"Okay, you've lost it, I'm going to go." Alec spun on his heel and headed towards the kitchen door, followed by Isabelle's manic laughter.

"I just thought of Magnus in a wedding gown!" she cackled.

Alec rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him, deciding it best to leave Isabelle to her own devices. Even if her own devices involved pulling a muscle from laughing so hard. Alec stuffed his hands into his pockets and wandered the halls of the Institute, trying not to think about how worried he was about his relationship with Magnus.

They hadn't talked about whether their relationship was solid or official yet. All they had really done was gone out on miscellaneous dates and end up back at Magnus' apartment . . . doing stuff. Alec thought Isabelle truly was crazy, thinking that two months of that was enough to verify the solidification of their relationship. The only reason he stayed over at Magnus' apartment at all those two times was because it was late and Magnus insisted. They didn't do anything. That was for certain. For some reason, Alec always thought that doing . . . _that_ . . . was what verified the relationship. Not those silly small things Isabelle talked about.

And, just for the record, he had those glitter pots because Magnus said they'd bring out his eyes. Alec didn't wear that sort of thing. He just didn't want to hurt Magnus' feelings and humoured him by taking them. Alec was thankful, at least, that that was all Isabelle knew about. He didn't want her finding out that he had one of Magnus' t-shirts in his wardrobe just because . . . well, just because it smelled like him. If Isabelle found that (after laughing for maybe an hour at the fact that the shirt was luminous pink and said _'Nothing to wear'_ in big, bold sparkly letters) she would never let Alec live it down. Ever.

Alec ran a tired hand over his face. Man, relationships were hard.

He found himself in the library, wandering around the vast room aimlessly. He would have done something useful like sparring or training, but his mind was too clouded with his concerns and besides, Jace would bitch if he trained without him. Alec still had to get it through his parabati's head that he wasn't going to not train every time he went out with Clary. It was weird. Even though they were still siblings, they spent an unnatural amount of time together. Wasn't Clary dating the rat boy now or something anyway? The four eyed boy? What was his name . . . Sven?

The library felt empty without Hodge's presence. The room had always been Hodge's area. Where the older man spent most of his time. Without him around, it just felt wrong. Alec passed the reading table and smiled at one of Max's picture books, which lay open on the table. Alec knew they weren't called 'picture books' but he honestly couldn't remember the name that his baby brother had tried to drill into his head.

The Graybook lay open on the table as well, at a rune that Alec didn't recognize. He leaned forward to get a better look at it and concluded that it mustn't be something that would aid them in battle and that was why he didn't know about it. Below the rune it said _Fated._ Curious as it what it did, Alec pulled his stele out of his back pocket and lifted his hand. He carved the rune out onto his palm and waited. He felt nothing.

Alec frowned and waved his hand in front of himself, trying to provoke some sort of reaction from the rune. He sighed when nothing happened. Maybe it was a faulty rune and that's why they had never been taught about it. Alec lifted his palm to his eyes to get a better look. The complicated mark on his hand began to glow bright red and suddenly a scene played out in his head.

Alec felt a surge of panic before he decided that he had to be dreaming. Maybe he fell asleep in front of the fire or tried some of Isabelle's sardine soup and passed out. That was why he didn't recognize the rune _Fated_. He could have easily made it up in his sleep. So, if it was a dream, he was in no danger whatsoever.

The scene in his head seemed to be of two people sitting on a rooftop. Alec knew immediately that one of them was Magnus. You couldn't mistake Magnus for anyone. Especially with all the glitter and the unique fashion sense that just screamed, "MAGNUS BANE!" Alec smiled fondly. Magnus always managed to look good. It took him a moment to recognize the other person but when he realized who it was, he decided that it definitely had to be a dream.

Because Alec was looking at himself as well.

Alec tried not to turn his nose up in distaste. God, he looked a sight! Why did he always have to look so bland and boring? Why did Magnus stick with him when he was so bland and boring? Then again, it had only been too months. Maybe Magnus wouldn't stick with him . . . Alec didn't know yet.

" _Is that why you forgave me? For me, or you?"_ Alec's dream self asked.

" _I forgave you because I love you and I hate being without you. I hate it. My cat hates it"-_ Alec concluded with certainty that this had to be a dream because when dream Magnus said this, neither he or dream Alec even so much as flinched when the real Alec chuckled at the reference to Chairman Meow's devastated state- _"and because Catarina convinced me I was being stupid."_

" _Hmm, I like her."_

The real Alec wondered what he needed to be forgiven for. He wondered what dream Alec had done to dream Magnus that caused forgiveness of such magnitude. The real Alec allowed his dream to continue playing out as dream Magnus seemed to be feeling for dream Alec's heartbeat.

" _And you forgive me,"_ he said. _"For not being able to make you immortal, or end my own immortality."_

" _There's nothing to forgive,"_ dream Alec said. _"I don't want to live forever."_ The apparitions' hands' intertwined. _"We might not have that much time. I'll get old and I'll die. But I promise I won't leave you until then. It's the only promise I_ can _make."_

" _A lot of Shadowhunters don't get old,"_ said the dream version of Magnus. He sounded almost . . . afraid.

Alec couldn't help thinking about what an odd dream this was turning out to be. Even as dreams go . . . He and Magnus had only been dating two months yet they seemed so close here. So intimate and almost . . . in love. Alec thought that it actually seemed quite nice. He felt a stirring in his gut. He almost wanted it for himself.

The two dreams turned to face each other, staring into one another's eyes so intensely that Alec almost felt like an intruder. Which was absolutely ridiculous because this was a dream. _"Even if it were just days, I would want to spend them all with you. Does that mean anything?"_ dream Alec whispered.

" _Yes,"_ Magnus replied. _"It means that from now on we make every day matter."_

After that final word was uttered, Alec's hand was thrown back from his eyes and he found himself standing in the middle of the empty library again. His heart was racing like he'd just battled a thousand demons all on his own. His blue eyes fell on his hand and his stomach twinged as he saw that the _Fated_ rune was still there. It was rapidly fading but he could still make it out.

Alec convinced himself that he was dreaming. However, he felt an almost desperate urge to call Magnus and finally have that talk she had mentioned. He still felt that craving for intimacy that he had felt when he watched his dream counterpart stare into Magnus' beautiful, feline eyes. He wanted to talk to Magnus, seriously, about the seriousness of their relationship. And, if he was lucky, he'd get a pleasant response.

"Hey Alec." Isabelle popped her head around the door, apron covered in flour and fish grease. "Dinner's ready."

"I'll be there in a second," Alec replied, digging his hand into his pocket and pulling up Magnus' number.

Isabelle came fully into the room. "Alec, are you okay?"

 _Hey Magnus, it's Alec. Can we talk? I've had an epiphany :)_

Alec put his phone away and smiled at his sister. "I'm great, thanks," he said. He joined Isabelle at the door. "Shall we?"

For once in a very, very long time, Alec ate every morsel of the food Isabelle put in front of him.


End file.
